Astros' Lee trying to shake 'by far' worst ever start

No easy solution to slumpCarlos Lee struggles to revive bat, become heart of Astros' order

BERNARDO FALLAS , Copyright 2010 Houston Chronicle

Published
5:30 am CDT, Tuesday, June 15, 2010

If what has been a productive June is an indication the worst might be over, the change could not come soon enough for Astros outfielder Carlos Lee.

Or for his team, for that matter.

Through the first two weeks of this month, he is looking like the Lee the Astros and fans had grown accustomed to, batting .300 with five home runs — including two of the walk-off variety - 14 RBIs and an OPS of .985.

"Hopefully things are turning around for good, because I feel good and I'm hitting the ball good," Lee said.

Despite his recent and encouraging success at the plate, Lee realizes he is off to his worst start to a season.

"By far," he said.

He doesn't mind being reminded of it, either.

"The fans are expecting a lot more from me, and they have a point," Lee said. "Trust me, I have been as disappointed as they are."

And how could he not be? Here is a career .291 hitter and RBI machine who two months into the season was batting just a hair above the Mendoza Line with an OPS of just .569.

Carlos Lee, at the age of 34, is having the worst season of his major league career.

Carlos Lee, at the age of 34, is having the worst season of his major league career.

Photo: Smiley N. Pool, Chronicle

Photo: Smiley N. Pool, Chronicle

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Carlos Lee, at the age of 34, is having the worst season of his major league career.

Carlos Lee, at the age of 34, is having the worst season of his major league career.

Photo: Smiley N. Pool, Chronicle

Astros' Lee trying to shake 'by far' worst ever start

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The inadequacy of the output was magnified by the fact it comes from one of the best-compensated players in baseball - one who is paid for his bat - and because of the effect it had on a team that lacked teeth at the plate.

There's no mystery to what has ailed the Astros.

"Our offense is going to be as strong as the middle of the order," Astros general manager Ed Wade said.

Until recently, that was embarrassingly weak, thanks in big part to Lee's struggles.

As he watched teammates Lance Berkman and Hunter Pence - the other pieces making up the heart of the lineup - shake off ruts of their own in May, the only thing more frustrating for the outfielder than his woes at the plate had been figuring out how to end it.

Frustration takes over

Job No. 1 for hitting coach Sean Berry has been to steer Lee from frustration.

"When frustration gets into the picture, you make bad choices at the plate," Berry said. "A lot of people say it's his hitting reaction, but hitting is a lot about making a choice. He made bad choices a lot of times because of frustration."

So was the problem with his swing mechanical or mental? Plain bad luck, perhaps, or has Lee's age – he turns 34 this month – caught up with him?

More like a combination of circumstances. But moreover, something to consider are the physical changes Lee (6-2, 259 pounds) has undergone as a result of weight loss and changes in his workout regimen, Berry said.

Workout regimen

Lee had a weight clause in his contract kick in this season, and these days he hits the weight room often.

"Carlos definitely went through some change physically," Berry said. "His workout regimen has been great, so there is a change physically that may or may not have led to the slow start.

"He has a little different thing going on there. Having said that, after that kind of went through and we recognized some of the flaws that were happening with his swing, then it became mental."

Rewind to late 2006, when the Astros signed Lee to a club-record six-year, $100 million deal, and the team had a mess of an offense on its hands. Lee was hailed as the solution.

Lee told the Astros and their fans he would not disappoint them. And entering this season, Lee had been as good as advertised.

He finished 2009 batting .300 with 26 home runs and 102 RBIs, marking his seventh consecutive season of 99 or more RBIs.

But 2010 has been different. Lee has had slow starts, but never like this. He hit .183 with five RBIs in April and entered June batting just .206 and a .239 on-base percentage.

His surge in June has given his numbers a boost. Lee is batting .226 with 10 home runs and a team-leading 35 RBIs through 64 games, although he remains behind compared to seasons past.

His struggles have brought back some of the criticisms of a deal many shook their heads at when it happened, mainly because of the contract's length and cost in what was one of the last years of nonchalant, exorbitant spending by clubs.

His No. 1 fan

"That's what it took to get him," Astros owner Drayton McLane said. "If we would've made a lesser offer, I don't think we would have gotten him."

To illustrate a point, Alfonso Soriano, every team's first-choice free agent that offseason signed with the Cubs for eight years and $136 million.

But Soriano's time in Chicago has been marred by injuries, and the 34-year-old outfielder's production has dipped.

Wade said Lee has been worth it.

"Three hundred (average), 30 (home runs) and 100-plus RBIs?" Wade said. "To me, watching him in the first years I've been here, the comparison I draw is Tony Perez, the Hall of Famer and RBI machine.

"So, yeah, I think he's lived up to it. People knew he was a tremendous offensive performer and, in all candor, a below-average outfielder, but you're buying the bat."

Wade says it even as Lee's contract makes his job difficult, as it has a restrictive effect on the tight payroll.

Lee is due $18.5 million this season and again in 2011 and 2012. Combine that with righthander Roy Oswalt's $15 million salary and Berkman's $14.5 million, and the Astros have half of their payroll budget – currently in the $95 million range – tied up in three players.

Astros' old money

"We're not in unique company in that respect," Wade said.

Lee is in the fourth and last year of a full no-trade clause, with a partial trade clause kicking in for the remainder two years that supersedes his 10-and-5 rights, which he will attain for the 2012 season.

Factor in his salary, age and expressed desire to remain with the Astros, and Lee is as untradeable as they come should the Astros decide to part ways with high-priced veterans and rebuild.

Not that the Astros are contemplating such a decision. Wade said the Astros remain committed to Lee, and McLane is as big a fan of the slugger as he was some 3½ years ago.

If Lee had swung the ball well from the start of the season, said Wade, "and people were aware of the work he's doing with Sean right now and the work in the weight room, the story would be: Carlos Lee dedicated to his craft, got in the best shape since he's been in Houston and look at the way he is playing."

The work had not translated into success. Until recently.

"I'm feeling really good right now. I'm seeing the ball a lot better, staying back a lot better," Lee said. "But I have to keep working. It's a battle; it's a war for me right now, trying to go out and do my best and survive."